AFTER THE DISCIPLINE of English, the social sciences employ the most temporary faculty, according to a survey conducted by the National Education Association. Part-timers slog away, keeping introductory psychology, sociology, criminal justice and other social science courses staffed.

I spent three days in August at the ASA’s Centennial conference waiting for the 5,000 sociologists in attendance to present papers about studies on the employment trends within their own discipline. I combed through the whopping 368 page convention program. I found these presentations:
• “Non-academic job search”
• “Wage and Occupational Changes Over Time”
• “Section on Labor and Labor Movements Paper Session. The Internal Politics of Unions”
• “Launching an Academic Career in an Uncertain Economy”

Not one of these workshops offered a discussion on the use of temporary faculty in either higher education or within the social sciences.

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